FAQ

About ICAS

When Will ICAS Be Held?
The competitions dates vary each year depending on declared school holiday periods. For current year dates and fees: http://www.eats.com.my/2017-icas/

How much does it cost?
To assist parents and schools, EAA is committed to maintaining the lowest possible entry fee. For current year dates and fees: http://www.eats.com.my/2017-icas/What ICAS subjects and year levels are tested?
ICAS Subjects can be seen on: http://www.eats.com.my/subjects/. ICAS is available for Standard 2 to Upper 6 in Malaysia.
What do the labels A, B, C, D etc on the ICAS test booklets stand for?
ICAS is used in a growing number of countries. As year-level names vary across countries, it is simpler to code the ICAS booklets as A, B, C, D etc and provide a key to identify the relevant year-level for each country.

Introductory Paper

Paper A

Paper B

Paper C

Paper D

Paper E

Paper F

Paper G

Paper H

Paper I

Paper J

Std 2

Std 3

Std 4

Std 5

Std 6

Form 1

Form 2

Form 3

Form 4

Form 5 & Lower 6

Upper 6

Why doesn’t EATS address mail-outs and reports using the name of the Principal, nominee or the (ICAS subject) Coordinator, when name details are collected on the entry form?
A generic contact helps avoid materials going astray if previous contacts are no longer at the school. This also helps avoid unnecessary reprints if a name is spelt incorrectly or staff changes. However, having a current and specific Coordinator’s name at the school on our database enables EAA to contact the relevant person quickly and easily should the need arise.

How do we enter our school into ICAS?
School can enter by sending the completed entry forms (sent to schools in the ICAS Entry Information pack in February each year). Entries may be made online at http://www.eats.com.my/enter-icas using your ICAS school code and password.

What do I do with the ICAS booklets once my students have sat? Do I return them back to EATS?
No. After the ICAS Subject has been sat please place the booklets in a secure place. Once reports and results are received at your school, you can then hand the booklets back to the students or use them as past papers. Please do not send used booklets back to EATS.

About Year Level and Test Paper

What year level should a student enter ICAS?
A student must only sit the paper for the year level in which s/he is currently enrolled. A student who has been accelerated for a particular subject can sit the paper at that year level but should not sit more than one paper in any one subject.

Can a child sit ICAS in the year level above (or below) his/her school year?
Students can sit the ICAS paper for the year level for that subject in which s/he is currently enrolled at school. Children who have been accelerated for a particular subject can sit the paper at that year level. Students must only attempt one ICAS test in any one subject.

What happens if my class is unable to participate in a particular ICAS subject on the official sitting date?
In special circumstances, permission may be given for a school to participate in the ICAS on an alternative date. All requests for an alternative date must be submitted in writing by the school Principal or their nominee no later than two weeks before the official sitting date. Schools that sit on an alternative date may not be eligible for UNSW medals. For more information please refer to the ICAS Terms and Conditions.

When will we receive our ICAS test papers?
ICAS test materials are delivered by courier to your school and must be signed for.

About Entries and Payment

We’ve misplaced our school’s ICAS entry forms. How can we enter?
Log in at: http://www.eats.com.my/enter-icas to enter securely with your ICAS school code and password. Please contact us if you do not know your school password. Your password will be emailed to your registered school administration email address.

We have already sent our school’s ICAS entry form(s) in. Can we make additional entries?
Yes. You can make additional entries. Log in at: http://www.eats.com.my/enter-icas to enter securely with your ICAS school code and password.

Can a parent enter a child for ICAS independently of our school?
No. Entry to ICAS is school-based only. EATS is unable to accept requests from parents to enrol their child into an ICAS subject.

Can I make a combined payment for all ICAS entries from my school?
Yes.

Can I pay ICAS by credit card?
No.

Can I pay ICAS by InterBank Giro (IBG) or Online Funds Transfer?
Yes. Schools can log in to http://www.eats.com.my/enter-icas with your ICAS school code and password to Enter ICAS Online. Online entries have payment options for cheque or IBG.

I would like to pay by cheque for my school’s ICAS entries. Who should I make the cheque payable to?
Malaysian schools should make cheques payable to: Educational Assessment and Testing Services (M) Sdn Bhd.

About Education Analysis

Who writes the ICAS papers?
Questions used in ICAS papers are written by EAA assessment staff, experienced classroom teachers and subject matter experts. These writers utilise a wide range of materials and resources to ensure the questions are current, relevant and engaging for the students.

What is the review process for choosing questions?
All items are peer-reviewed by an external panel. This panel consists of practising classroom teachers and subject matter experts, including university academics. This panel considers the validity, reliability and currency of each assessment item. Once ratified by the external panel, the questions are placed in tests. All tests maintain a balance of items taking into account the difficulty of the questions and the strands, topics and skills tested.

How can a student or school prepare for the test?
Preparation is available through past papers, contacts EATS for stocks available.

How do I know that ICAS is relevant for my school?
Each ICAS subject has been carefully researched by EAA staff so that the test content is relevant and interesting. EAA staff review curriculum documents on a regular basis to ensure that subject content in ICAS is relevant to your students’ schooling. The Assessment Framework provides details of how this works for each ICAS subject. To view each subject framework go to the following pages and click on the framework link:

What information will parents get about their child’s achievements?
The School will be sent a Student Report and certificate for each child. These can be sent home and/or contribute to the student portfolio. This report provides accessible diagnostic information about the student’s performance and highlights any strengths or weaknesses.

What information will I get about the students in my class in regard to ICAS?
Each school receives a report providing comprehensive data about individuals and year levels. A breakdown of the report can be found at: https://www.eaa.unsw.edu.au/icas/school-results

Why does EAA re-use some ICAS questions from previous years papers and why do the same questions appear in the paper above and below?
Using the same questions enables us to draw comparisons between each year level to see how different cohorts progress over time. In order to do this, we need to know how one test paper compares in difficulty with another. By comparing the information obtained from a few questions that appear in two different papers, we can get a good indication of the relative difficulty of each paper. This process is called ‘equating’ and is applied to test papers across year levels (called vertical equating) and also across calendar Years (horizontal equating).

About Results

Where will results be sent?
All reports and certificates are sent to the school in the first instance. Results are also available online. To access this facility, parents and their children will need their TAP ID’s and passwords to log in. The TAP ID is printed on the student report and is valid for all ICAS subject results.

When will our School receive our results?
Most results will be sent out to schools 3 months after the sitting date of each subject.

Are ICAS results available online?
Yes. EAA has a secure, interactive site that allows you to view and analyse your school and student data.
Log in to the School Portal at: https://www.eaa.unsw.edu.au/school-portal with your ICAS school code and password to access your results online. Please note the school results are available only to participating schools, their Principals and the ICAS subject coordinators.

Can a parent get their child’s ICAS results over the phone?
No. Due to privacy laws, results and student details are not disclosed over the phone. Results will be dispatched to the school only.

Can a parent get their child’s ICAS results directly from EATS or EAA?
No. Results are dispatched directly to the school. Parents need to ask their child’s school for their child’s results. Reprints of results and certificates should also be requested through the school as EAA cannot adequately identify the person requesting the reprints.

Can I obtain a copy of my student’s ICAS Writing script?
Yes. Please contact Customer Service for more information. There will be a charge for this service.

Will I be advised if my Student is a UNSW medal winner in ICAS?
Yes. Schools are advised of all medal winners.
Contact your school to find out if they are participating in the competitions. Entries can be accepted only from schools.

My School Is Not Participating. What Should I Do?
Discuss the matter with the Principal of your school to explore possibilities.

What Year Level Should A Student Enter?
Students should sit the paper according to their current year level. Students are not permitted to sit lower year level papers.

Can A Student Do More Than A Year Level In The Same Subject?
No. Only one paper per subject may be attempted in each competitions year.

Where Will Competitions Result Be Sent?
All reports and certificates are sent to the schools at which the student sat the competitions.

When Will The Competitions And Assessments Results Be Sent?
The results are delivered to the school approximately 12 weeks from the Competitions and Assessments dates.